Investment Needed to Energize Polonia

BUFFALO, NY - There's no question Buffalo is seeing development. But it's not spreading to all the neighborhoods.

With tens of thousands of people flocking to the Broadway-Fillmore section of Buffalo for Dyngus Day and Easter festivities, many wonder when the area will start seeing progress.

With all the positive development at Main Street, Webster Block, the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus and the Waterfront, could there ever be significant investments made in Historic Polonia?

"More events at the Broadway Market [are needed], rather than just the Easter events," said one shopper. Efforts to hold events there year-round have been made over the last couple years and some have been successful. But, events aren't enough.

"The city is always putting money to try to fix the streets and even the sidewalks that need fixing, but you need to get people like [Howard] Zemsky and people from private investment to do things like Larkinville, which is a mile and a half from here," said Buffalo Common council member David Franczyk.

Zemsky, who's managing partner of Larkin Development Group, has been partly behind Larkinville Development, which offers dining and music events in the Larkin District. So far, the only major possible development in Broadway-Fillmore is the development of the Broadway Market itself. Franczyk says the city has received seven proposals from companies or people looking to revive the market. He notes that there's rich history and low rent in this part of Buffalo, which could also bring more energy here.

"I think this will be a tourist area because of these fantastic buildings like the Central Terminal. These really glorious churches, the people who live here, it's very inexpensive to live here," said Franczyk.

The main issues that drive people away from here is crime and poverty. Shoppers think if more businesses could start opening up more every month and that there were more attractions that maybe Broadway-Fillmore could build up like other parts of the city.